Bacterial Filtration

[Brandon McHenry]

Hey guys,
Not sure if this is the right forum but I thought Id give it a shot. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience or success with bacterial filtration methods (zeovit, aquaforest, prodibio, MB7 etc.). I am in the process of transferring my tank to this type of filtration (following aqua forest to be exact) and I was wondering how long it might take an already established tank to grow a significant bacterial population to filter the tank in the way that these programs suggest. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I only have experience with Red Sea nitrate-phosphate X. It took a couple of weeks to build up enough bacterial population to begin seeing a decrease in nitrates and phosphates. I don't really know how long the others take, but I would suppose it depends on bio load, feeding regimen, and how aggressively you begin the.process.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I only have experience with Red Sea nitrate-phosphate X. It took a couple of weeks to build up enough bacterial population to begin seeing a decrease in nitrates and phosphates. I don't really know how long the others take, but I would suppose it depends on bio load, feeding regimen, and how aggressively you begin the.process.

I had no idea Red Sea NO3 PO4 X was a bacterial supplement. Ive used several other Red Sea products but never that one. Yes I understand many factors play a role in the process as well just looking for estimates I guess and specific experiences if anyone has them. My tank is not dirty by any means but I am trying to take it from low nutrient to ultra low nutrient for my SPS. I certainly don't want to decrease my other export means until I feel I have built up a sufficient bacterial population.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It isn't a bacterial supplement. It is organic carbon dosing to drive the in tank growth of bacteria. That can also be done DIY with vodka, vinegar, etc. and many, many people are successful with it.

FWIW, I use vinegar for this purpose.

In most cases, I'm not sure extra bacteria are needed unless the tank in question starts getting undesirable species of bacteria, such as Cyanobacteria.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Randy, and idea of what the proportions of acetic acid and ethanol are on the Red Sea product?

 

[Brandon McHenry]

It isn't a bacterial supplement. It is organic carbon dosing to drive the in tank growth of bacteria. That can also be done DIY with vodka, vinegar, etc. and many, many people are successful with it.

FWIW, I use vinegar for this purpose.

In most cases, I'm not sure extra bacteria are needed unless the tank in question starts getting undesirable species of bacteria, such as Cyanobacteria.

Even the probiotic methods? I am trying the aqua forest product line and there is a product that adds probiotic bacteria strains to the tank to help prevent a monoculture etc. I am also using a product for bacterial growth as well, surely a carbon source. It states it can be a substitute for the methods listed in your post. Ill post the link below if that helps. So by dosing bacteria and a carbon source, when can I safely assume that the population size is large enough to cycle all of my nutrients? When my levels reach undetectable levels?

http://aquaforest.eu/en/product/probiof/